Hamas has stated its openness to an agreement ending the Gaza war, proposing a five-year truce in exchange for the release of all hostages held by the group.
An anonymous Hamas official revealed this as the group’s negotiators engaged in discussions with Egyptian mediators in Cairo.
Simultaneously, reports from Gaza indicated that Israeli strikes resulted in at least 35 fatalities.
The United Nations has warned of dwindling food and medical supplies in Gaza after nearly eight weeks of an Israeli aid blockade.
The Hamas official indicated the group’s readiness for a “single batch” prisoner exchange alongside the proposed five-year ceasefire.
A subsequent Hamas statement confirmed their delegation’s departure from Cairo on Saturday evening.
This new initiative follows Hamas’s rejection of an earlier Israeli proposal deemed “partial.”
The current proposal seeks a “comprehensive” agreement to halt the conflict that began with Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
The previously rejected Israeli offer reportedly involved a 45-day ceasefire in return for ten living hostages.
Hamas has consistently maintained that any truce must lead to a complete end to the war, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and a significant increase in humanitarian aid.
A previous ceasefire agreement, which commenced on January 19 and later collapsed, also included provisions for an Israeli withdrawal and a “permanent end to the war” in its second phase, as outlined by then-US President Joe Biden.
Hamas had sought discussions on this second phase, but Israel preferred extending the initial phase.